Thursday, December 15, 2011

Oh well, 2011 has been a darling to me. So many things happened and by far have been the most memorable one. We grow older mandatory with every passing day, but wiser or not is what matters. One doesn't merely grow wise by studying or engaging in intellectual conversations/works all day long. That is just being book smart and boring ;-) The more one reads (non academics), travels, volunteers, converses, and learns how to be thankful and grateful for what they have, the wiser he/she becomes. Erm, anyways, all this serious stuff suits me not, I’m mad and crazy and impulsive and irresponsible:-p

So, the highlight for this year has to be my irresponsibility and the places i managed to visit! Yippee.

I'll probably start with why i call myself irresponsible. I quit my high flying (literally- i had to fly out of the country every month- at least once ;-)) job in April because I felt was starting to get comfortable and the challenge I enjoyed earlier was starting to ebb. So, I quit without as much of a backup plan. I went home and told my folks i quit, they were more than happy i finally decided to (Wtf moment!) and when I told my BigAnne i quit, he said Congratulations (Epic WTF'ness). B.B didn't take the news as well though. I was bribed with a trip to the UK.. Yippee! And that kick-started my travelling for the year ;-)

May 2011 - London- Leeds- York-Scarborough-Manchester-London :-)

Scarborough Castle.. Beautiful!!!

London bridge.

Opposite the Palace. I like the gold birdie more

Fell in love with beautiful spring, the charm and antiquity of the cities, the beautiful castles (ruined, semi ruined), the corn market, the cider (oh sweet lord!!), Walkers Salt and Chips Vinegar (You've got to try 'em to believe how yummy/addictive they are!) and everything else about the place!! And yes, the gorgeous gardens and flowers!!

And then Cameron Highlands with my AmPa. Cameron's has to be the one place my folks have to visit every year. I dont quite mind it frankly ;-) I love the hot tea by the roadside on the top of the mountain and the sweet strawberries! Yummeh!

stwaaaawbewwwiesh!

roses and more roses!!!

Many small vacations in between and then came the Tioman! :-D

That place is gorgeous!! And to make it even more tempting its an duty free island :-p Its a divers paradise for those in the East Malaysia. A Friend of another friend had come down from Chennai, and i HAD to show Malaysia at its best, so Tioman it was! The pristine crystal clear water made it feel like heaven and the colorful corals and fishes!! You've got to see it to believe it truly does exist!

Us :)

exhausted or lazy. cannot remember ;-p

high five with em fishies

The problem with beach holidays are that you come back so burnt and exhausted but you crave for more ;-)
i got home just in time for Diwali and i got stares from all relatives visiting home, like WTF went wrong with this child. Heck, i thought my eyesight was failing me. I was so dark that i had to switch on the fluorescent bulbs to have a look at myself, not to mention i had to stand 2cm's away from the mirror to be able to look at myself :-P.

But heck, less than 2 weeks later i was craving for another beach getaway ;-p Ding dong ding dong and Penang it was (My faaaav place next to Cameron's it was) And i got to go to Meromictic Lake :-D a 6 year dream and god knows why i didn't think Malaysia had one. Meromictic Lakes are those that have dual layers of salt and fresh water (Click on the link for a Wikipedia Article)

Tanky In Kerachut :-)

Pantai Kerachut, Penang

Meromictic Lake

And oh, I went Jet Skiing in Penang, Yay! And went a tad too fast and flew right into the water :-p (no Yay) and lost someone's Oakley (noYay again) , and that someone continues to harass me till today :-p and to my defense I lost my hair clutch too :-p

And besides all this roaming around, i did meet Michael Borowitzka and presented a paper with him :-D
You'd know him if you are into Algae/Phycology. He's like Archimedes to Physics (only still alive and kicking ;-) )

And I finally managed to donate blood this year! Yay!! After being repeatedly rejected for being underweight. Shanky is now overweight and they couldn't reject me :-p I have gory pics of blood flowing into the bag, but i shall reserve it for my viewing pleasure only ;-)

So, well, pretty much what i remember of this year, and i'm pretty lazy right now, so if anything fun happens or if i remember more of 2011, i'll blog, again, till then taaa :)